<<..Whether or not to shave is a big question for me now, and I don't have
the background to decide what to do, so anyone who could fill me in on the
basics would be doing a big mitzvah. Does the Gemara discuss this? Later
commentaries? What are mainstream frum, non-Hasidic people taught about
shaving?>>
I just read Jon's posting concerning beards. There are those who have the
custom to wear beards and those who do not. Historicallly, there was a
time when most men wore beards - not just Jews. If memory serves me
coreectly, it was Frederick (the great?) in Russia who attempted to bring
his subjects into the modern world and outlawed beards.
Today, and in recent years, students of the Mir Yeshiva for example, do not
have beards. The Chatam Sofer has an interesting Teshuva as to why it is
perfectly permissible from a halachic standpoint not to have a beard.
There is a story (true story) of a chasidic Rebbe in Brooklyn who wanted to
introduce his prospective son-in-law to his other Rabbinic friends. The
son-in-law did not have a beard, but was a musmach and a talmid chacham.
After delivering a drasha before the other rabbanim, the son in law left.
The Chassidische Rebbe turned to his colleagues for their reaction asnd a
comment was made about the lack of a beard. The Rebbe said quite
incisively, A kopf kan immer waxen a boort, ober a boort kan nicht waxen a
kopf. A head can always grow a beard, but a beard can't grow a head.
I don't have the time right now to find the exact Chatam Sofer - it is
almost Shabbat, but if you are interested, e-mail me.
Steven Oppenheimer, D.D.S.
oppy2@juno.com